Clothes-pin.



No. 859,689. v PATENTED JULY 9,1907.

0. w. OTT. CLOTHES PIN.

APPLICATION FILED H0139, 1905- W/T/VESSES, INVENTOH QZQPZeJWVZZ W I 5y "7 A rramvns wnsmuonm, n. c.

CHARLES W. OTI, OF PITTSBURG, KANSAS.

CLOTHES-PIN. o

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 9, 1907.

Application filed November 29, 1905. Serial No. 289,601.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES W. O'rr, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pittsburg, in the county of Crawford and State of Kansas, have invented a new and Improved Clothes-Pin, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to clothes pins such as used in hanging clothes upon a clothes line to dry.

The object of the invention is to produce a clothes pin which may be readily applied and disconnected, and which will operate to hold the clothes securely.

A further object of the invention is to give the pin a form which will enable the same to be readily gathered upon a holder.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts to be more fully described hereinafter and definitely set forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing how the clothes pins are applied to the clothes line and showing, also, how they may be held conveniently upon the holder; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the holder showing how the same is held when removing the clothes pins from the line; this view represents a clothes pin in side elevation, which is being removed by means of the holder, and shows, also, the clothes line in cross section, together with a fragment of cloth held upon the line; and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the clothes pin.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents the clothes pin, which is preferably formed of stout wire bent to the required form. It comprises an elongated body 2 presenting two opposite parallel limbs or arms 3, 4, connected bya bend or bight 5. The arm 3 near its extremity remote from the bight 5 is formed with a jaw 6 which inclines outwardly toward its extremity as indicated at 7 in this manner an inclined jaw 8 is formed, which is useful in holding the clothes line 9 and the clothes 10 in a manner which will be described more fully hereinafter.

The extension 7 is bent so as to form a hook 11. The arm 4 adjacent to the extension 7 passes across the same as indicated, and is bent downwardly and inwardly beyond so as to present a bight or jaw 12. Beyond the bight or jaw 12 the wire is doubled upon itself so as to present a downwardly disposedlip 13 and a forked extension 14. This fork is bent so as to conform to the shape of the adjacent part of the clothes pin and has a downwardly projecting shank lying parallel with the end of the arm 4. In this way a slot 15 is formed in which the jaw 6 and inclined extension 7 lie; when the pin is closed as indicated in Fig. 3, the lip 13 lies adjacent the inclined jaw 8. It should be understood that the pin is formed of resilient wire and the ends of the arms 3 and 4 tend to spread apart. In order to form a stop to limit this movement of the arms I bend the end of the hook 11 laterally, forming a spur 16 which comes against the fork 14 and the adjacent part of the arm 4.

In applying the clothes pin in practice, the clothes will be thrown over the line asindicated in Fig. 1, so that a depending edge 17 is formed just below the line. By pressing the arms 3 and 4 toward each other, an opening or space is formed between the lip 13 and the jaw 6. The pin is then forced downwardly so that the clothes line and the clothes on the same will pass into the partly closed eye 18 which will form between the lip and the jaw.

From inspection of Fig. 2, it will be observed that if a force is exerted upon the clothes line tending to pull it toward the contracted opening through which the line is passed in applying the clothes pin, there will be a tendency for the clothes pin to jam; that is, to become more tightly held. This action arises, of course, from the fact that a portion of the lip 13 inclines toward the opposite jaw 6.

In connection with the clothes pin, I provide a holder 19 which is preferably made of wire bent into a ,curved bow 20, the ends of which are connected by a transverse bar 21. At a suitable point the bow 20 is provided with a laterally projecting handle 22 which adapts the device to be held securely in ones hands, as will be readily understood. Preferably near its middle point the bar 21 is bent laterally to form a loop 23 which enables the holder to be hung upon the arm, as indicated most clearly in Fig. 1.

It should be understood that when the clothes pins are on the line as indicated in Fig. 2, a space or opening 24 is formed between the end of the hook 11 and the body of the clothes pin. In removing the clothes pins by means of the holder, a portion of the holder is thrust through this opening to engage the hook 11. When the holder is pulled away from the line, the clothes pin quickly detaches itself from the line, and, on account of the resilience of the body of the clothes pin, the arms 3 and 4 thereof immediately tend to separate. In this way the opening to the hook 11 is closed by the fork 14. In this way the clothes pins may be quickly removed from the line and will remain upon the holder for immediate use, when desired. In using the holder when the clothes are to be hung out upon the line, the pins will normally hang upon the lower portion of the bow 20, as indicated in Fig. 1, and will be removed one by one, as desired, by a suitable twisting movement of the body of each pin.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire'to secure by Letters Patent,-

1. A clothes-pin having a body presenting jaws adapted to open to grasp the clothes-line, and a laterally-projecting hook engaging said body to form a closed eye when said jaws are closed.

2. A Clothespin, consisting of a pair of arms crossing each other at one extremity and forming jaws adapted to engage the clothes-line, one of said arms having a hook projecting beyond the opposite arm, the extremity of said hook being in engagement with said opposite arm when said jaws are closed, to form a closed eye.

3. A clothes-pin formed of resilient wire and presenting a pair of crossed arms having a lip and a jaw co-operating therewith to retain a clothes-line, one of said arms having a hook formed thereupon beyond the opposite arm, the extremity of said hook abutting said opposite arm, whereby said hook becomes a closed eye when said lip and said jaw lie substantially against each other.

4. A clothes pin consisting of a wire bent to form a bight connecting two oppositely disposed arms, the extremity of one of said arms being doubled upon itself and bent laterally toward the opposite arm to form a second bight, said opposite arm having an extension projecting in the direction of said first arm and lying opposite said second bight whereby said second bight and said extension form retaining jaws adapted to hold the clothes pin therebetween, said extension being formed into a hook projecting beyond said first arm and facilitating the removal 01 the clothes pin from the clothes line.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES W. OTT.

Witnesses W. J. WATSON, LAURA A. 'ILSON. 

